A city has become the first in Britain to equip headmasters in all its schools with metal detecting wands to tackle knife crime.

Police in Southampton are providing the hand-held devices to all 82 primary and secondary schools to assist staff who suspect pupils of carrying knives.

With more and more weapons being seized on school premises, the initiative is certain to be watched by police forces and councils nationwide.

The move comes after two teenagers were found guilty of killing 18-year-old Lewis Singleton in the city last March.

Rikki Johnson, 19, from Southampton, was found guilty of murder, and Sercan Calik, also 19, of Bassett, was found guilty of manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court this week.

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Southampton is understood to have relatively low levels of school knife crime, recording only two cases of pupils carrying knives last year.

The scheme follows the introduction of laws last year giving teachers powers to search pupils without consent if they believe one has smuggled in a weapon.

A spokesman for Southampton City Council said: "We have not heard of any other local authority that has introduced these metal detectors en masse."

He said the council and police wished to give staff the "proper equipment" to ensure knives were kept out of school.

"There will not be routine searches, only if teachers have a suspicion that pupils might have something," he added.

The wands cost £30 each and have been funded by the Southampton Safe City Partnership, which brings together police, council, health and youth service workers.

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